Flex-fire G2 technology
Patent No. US9939221 (titled "Flex-fire G2 technology") on Nov 13, 2017. The application was issued on Apr 10, 2018.
What is this patent about?
’221 is related to the field of high-energy trigger reset mechanisms for semi-automatic firearms. It specifically addresses the mechanical timing and physical feedback of fire control groups in both striker-fired and hammer-fired systems. The background context involves the pursuit of faster, more accurate repeatable shot placement by minimizing the duration of the operating cycle and ensuring a reliable reset of the firing components.
The underlying idea behind ’221 is the use of a positive displacement reset where the reciprocating motion of the gun bolt is harnessed to physically force the trigger back into its forward, pre-depressed position. Rather than relying on relatively weak internal springs to return the trigger, this system uses the massive kinetic energy of the cycling bolt to drive a mechanical interface. This ensures the trigger is reset with digital precision and high force, effectively overcoming the user's finger pressure during the recoil stroke.
The claims of ’221 focus on a mechanical architecture where both the trigger and the gun bolt feature integrated cam surfaces that directly interface with one another. As the bolt travels rearward following a discharge, these matching geometries collide or slide against each other to reposition the trigger. The independent claims cover the physical arm assembly, the method of operation, and the specific reset mechanism that utilizes this cam-on-cam engagement to facilitate the return of the trigger.
In practice, this mechanism creates a rigid mechanical link that prevents the trigger from being depressed during the majority of the bolt's travel. The system is designed so that the trigger is only 'unlocked' and capable of being pulled again when the bolt is in battery or within a very small percentage of its forward stroke. This interference contact acts as a safety and timing gate, ensuring that the firearm cannot be fired out of battery while providing the shooter with distinct tactile feedback that the system is ready for the next shot.
This approach differs from prior solutions by replacing passive spring-return triggers with a bolt-driven reset that is synchronized with the cycling of the action. Traditional semi-automatic triggers can be 'short-stroked' or fail to reset under rapid use if the spring tension is light; however, this invention uses the bolt's movement to guarantee a reset. By locking the trigger until the final stage of the forward stroke, the invention maximizes the recovery duration for the operator, leading to better controllability and higher effective rates of fire without transitioning into automatic operation.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical Landscape
In the mid-2010s when ’221 was filed, semi-automatic firearm fire control groups were typically implemented using spring-driven reset mechanisms that relied on relatively low-energy potential stored during the bolt cycle to return the trigger to its sear-engagement position. At a time when systems commonly relied on the manual release of trigger pressure by the operator to facilitate the reset stroke, the speed of successive firing cycles was limited by the mechanical lag of internal springs and the physical response time of the user. Furthermore, when hardware constraints made the synchronization of trigger positioning and bolt travel non-trivial, ensuring that the trigger remained in a pre-depressed state throughout the high-velocity reciprocation of the action often required complex secondary linkages or disconnectors that were susceptible to timing inconsistencies.
Prosecution Position
The disclosed invention represents a technical advancement through the integration of a direct mechanical interface between the reciprocating gun bolt and the trigger assembly to achieve a high-energy, positive displacement reset. By utilizing corresponding integrated cam surfaces on both the gun bolt and the trigger, the system effects an architectural shift from passive spring-reset methods to an active, bolt-driven forced reset that overcomes the latency inherent in traditional fire control groups. This configuration enables a digital precision of trigger function where the trigger is physically repositioned to a pre-depressed state by the kinetic energy of the bolt's stroke. Additionally, the mechanical contact between these components serves as a structural timing constraint, preventing trigger depression during critical phases of the operating cycle and ensuring the mechanism only permits firing when the bolt is in or near a battery position.
Claims
This patent contains 20 total claims, with claims 1, 8, and 16 serving as the independent claims. The independent claims focus on a trigger reset system for firearms that utilizes integrated cam surfaces on both the trigger and the reciprocating gun bolt to mechanically reposition the trigger during the firing cycle. The dependent claims serve to further define specific operational parameters, such as the use of high-energy reset forces, the timing of trigger lockout during the bolt stroke, and the application of the mechanism within semi-automatic, hammer-fired, or striker-fired firearm configurations.
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US9939221
- Application Number
- US15811212A
- Filing Date
- Nov 13, 2017
- Publication Date
- Apr 10, 2018
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO , Google Patents